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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wind — moving air
  4. file — a document
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. mug — a face
  7. rush — hurry
  8. file — a tool
  9. game — wild animals
  10. capital — money
  11. mug — a cup
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. file — a line of people
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. plane — a tool
  17. game — a match
  18. mug — to rob
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. capital — a city

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com